Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC Has $3.16 Million Stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC boosted its position in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) by 42.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,450 shares of the CRM provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,800 shares during the period. Salesforce makes up approximately 0.9% of Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC’s holdings in Salesforce were worth $3,159,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CRM. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the third quarter worth about $523,000. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 74.4% during the third quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,424 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,401,000 after buying an additional 5,299 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Salesforce by 23,664.2% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,002,848 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $274,490,000 after buying an additional 998,628 shares in the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Salesforce by 4.4% during the third quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 19,233 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $5,264,000 after buying an additional 811 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great Lakes Retirement Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 3.4% in the third quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 9,526 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,607,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on CRM shares. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 target price (up previously from $380.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Northland Securities reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $440.00 target price (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Salesforce in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Salesforce from $425.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty-two have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Salesforce currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $376.84.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Salesforce news, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.81, for a total transaction of $246,480.39. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,597,151.79. The trade was a 13.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy E. Weaver sold 6,221 shares of Salesforce stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $328.18, for a total transaction of $2,041,607.78. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,750 shares in the company, valued at $15,342,415. This represents a 11.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,102,833 shares of company stock valued at $381,389,136 in the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Salesforce Stock Performance

NYSE CRM opened at $318.76 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $334.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $304.76. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.00 and a 12-month high of $369.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market cap of $305.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.43, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.31.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 15.96%. Salesforce’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is 26.32%.

Salesforce Company Profile

Salesforce, Inc provides Customer Relationship Management (CRM) technology that brings companies and customers together worldwide. The company's service includes sales to store data, monitor leads and progress, forecast opportunities, gain insights through analytics and artificial intelligence, and deliver quotes, contracts, and invoices; and service that enables companies to deliver trusted and highly personalized customer support at scale.